Dental treatment assistance arrangement



Dec. 10, 1968 A. EQHEIMERT m DENTAL TREATMENT ASSISTANCE ARRANGEMENT FiledOct. 22. 1965 Albert 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 E. Holman, Ill

INVINTOR 19-63 A. E. .HEIMERT m 3,4 1

DENTAL TREATMENT ASSISTANCE ARRANGEMENT Filed Oct. 22, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Albert E. Holman, Ill

INVENTOR w fi Dec. 10, 1968 A. E. HEIMERT m DENTAL TREATMENT ASSISTANCE ARRANGEMENT Filed on. 22. 1965 Albert E. Helmort, Ill

INVENTOR A onm'v United States Patent 3,415,571 DENTAL TREATMENT ASSISTANCE ARRANGEMENT Albert E. Heimert III, 306 Weatherbee Road, Baltimore, Md. 21204 Filed Oct. 22, 1965, Ser. No. 501,124 13 Claims. (Cl. 297188) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A dental treatment method and dental treatment assistance arrangement is disclosed by and with which the patients attention is diverted from the treatment area and focused onto a secondary area of visual and auditory interest while effecting dental operatory steps on the patient. The illustrated and preferred arrangement includes a dental unit, a reclining chair, an adjustable light source, and a television set supporting arrangement having a television set supporting and viewing zone disposed above the light source, and a television set disposed on the support therefor and tilted downwardly and forwardly toward the patient and in the visual zone of the patient when sitting up or tilted rearwardly to a reclined position in the chair. A configuration of television set support is disclosed which enables attachment to the light bar, and substantially unencumbered work by the dentist, while enabling viewing of the television picture by the patient.

This invention relates to a dental treatment assistance arrangement for aiding in distracting :a patients attention from the treatment process and maintaining this attention on an animated and interest-absorbing visual display.

As dental treatment involves mechanical and surgical operations in the sensitive oral area it is often difficult to effect the necessary treatment, particularly in children, due to such factors as psychological resistance and physical pain, with consequent closure or undesirable movement of the mouth. It is accordingly a major feature of this invention to provide a dental treatment assistance arrangement which will aid in taking the patients attention from the treatment area and focusing it on a secondary area of visual and auditory interest to the patient. Briefly, this is accomplished by providing a dental treatment arrangement which enables viewing and listening to a television set by the patient while permitting normal lighting of the patients face and mouth area and free access to the face and oral cavity by the treating dentist. In the preferred and illustrated embodiment the television set is mounted on a rack which is carried by the light post of the dental unit and which still enables free movement and adjustment of the light as necessary or desired while giving the patient a substantially unimpeded view of the television screen during treatment.

Still other objects, features and attendant advantages will become apparent from a reading of the following detailed description of one physical embodiment constructed according to the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is an isometric view of a dental treatment arrangement according to the invention, the television support rack being shown in full lines and the remainder of the arrangement being in phantom,

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation of the arrangement of FIGURE 1, employing full and phantom lines similarly to FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 3 is a right end elevation of the television set support rack of FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 4 is a left end elevation of the television support rack of FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 5 is a plan view of the television support rack of FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 6 is a front elevation view of the television support rack of FIGURE 1.

Referring now to the figures of the drawings, in FIG- URE 1 is shown an illustrative and preferred arrangement according to the invention, including an upstanding dental uit 11 which is floor mounted in the conventional manner, and a patient treatment chair 13 having a backrest 13a and headrest 13b, the chair components being adjustable in a conventional manner to accommodate the patients size and the treatment requirements. In a typical position the patient has his head resting in an upwardly tilted position on the headrest 13b, with the backrest 13a being tilted backwardly or not as the conditions require.

The dental unit 11 includes a conventional articulated dental arm having a power driven handpiece 17a for patient treatment as desired. A light 19 having a curved mirror reflector facing the zone of the headrest 13b is adjustably carried on a light post 21 which is suitably mounted on a vertical pivot support 23 disposed on the rear side of the dental unit 11. In the normal operative treatment procedure the dentist will work from the side of the chair 13 opposite to the side on which the dental unit 11 is disposed, with his head generally below or to one side of the light path from the light 19 to the patients mouth area. Thusly, the patient is in a position to look forwardly and upwardly toward an area above the light 19, and his view in this area is generally unrestricted.

According to the illustrated and preferred embodiment of this invention a television set T is supported in this viewing area above the light 19, and preferably somewhat ahead or forward of the usual light position, as seen in FIGURES 1 and 2. The television set T may be a conventional set and is preferably of the portable or other light weight type, with a front surface viewing screen as seen in FIGURE 1, and is supported in the desired position by a support rack generally indicated at 31.

Support rack 31 includes a mounting arm 33 of quadrilateral cross section having an upstanding section 33a and an integral horizontally extending support section 330 integrally connected by a smooth forwardly extending complex bend section 33b. The support rack 31 is carried by the dental unit through attachment of the mounting arm 33 to the rear upstanding section of light post 21 through the medium of adjustable annulus clamps 35. Clamps 35 are disposed in spaced slots 33d formed along the upstanding section 33a ofmounting arm 33, and have worm type adjust-ment screws 35a which laterally engage in rack type spaced transverse slots formed in the web annulus portions of the clamps.

Through the smooth complex bend 33b of arm 33 the upper horizontally extending support section 330 is rotated or tilted forwardly about its horizontal center line, with the upper flat surface thereof thereby tilted forwardly. Secured to this forwardly tilted upper surface of horizontally extending section 330 at spaced apart positions are two upstanding partially enclosing holder units 41 which together with the horizontally extending support section 33c of arm 33 effectively form a downwardly and forwardly tilted supporting cage enclosure for a television set T with its viewing surface held above and preferably forward of the zone of light 19.

Each of the enclosure units 41 includes a transverse tubular or rod base element 43 and a transverse rod or tubular top element 45. The base element 43 has a front lip 43a which engages and retains a front face portion of the television T, a downwardly and forwardly tilted television cabinet supporting mid-section 43c and an upwardly and forwardly extending rear section 4342, the sections 43a, 43c and 43:: being integrally connected .3 through bend sections 4311 and 43d. Top element 45 has a downwardly and rearwardly extending front lip 45a which engages and retains an upper front face portion of the cabinet of the television set against falling from the rack enclosure. Integrally connected to front lip 45a through a smooth approximately 90-degree bend section 45b is downwardly and forwardly extending top midsection, which in turn is integrally connected to downwardly and rearwardly extending rear section 45] through additional bend 45d. It will be noted that bends 43d and 45d are preferably respectively greater than and less than 90-degrees and are complementary to form a total of ap proximately 180 degrees in order to best accommodate the usual configurations of small television set cabinetry.

Base element 43 and top element 45 are vertically adjustably connected through telescopic fitting of the section 45] of the upper smaller diameter element 45 into the facing open end of the section 43e of tubular element 43. Selective locking at the desired adjustment is accomplished by a wing set screw 49 engaged in and extending through internally threaded boss 43m secured as by welding on the rear of section 43m.

Enclosure units 41 are secured in a plane substantially normal to the center line of the supporting section 330 of arm 33 through the medium of securing screws 47 extending through the section 33c with associated cap nuts 47, the heads of these securing screws being preferably recessed by slight flattening down of the tubular base element in the securing section as indicated at 437. Likewise, the rigidity of the enclosure units 43 relative to the arm section 330 is enhanced by slight flattening of the lower side of the base elements at the zone of mounting onto the arm section 33c, as indicated at 43g.

While the invention has been illustrated and described with respect to one preferred physical embodiment it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and improvements may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. For instance, various modified cage enclosure constructions might be employed, such as the enclosure units 41 might be made with rod stock, with telescopic adjustment effected by the end of one rod clement engaging in an end bore drilled in the other rod element, or if one wished to sacrifice the advantage of adjustment of the enclosure cage size the rods or tubes could be continuous rather than in two pieces. Also, the base element might telescope into the top element for adjustment, and the base section itself might employ a similar two-piece telescopic adjustment arrangement for front-to-back depth adjustment of the cage enclosure size, in which event a three-piece unit 41 might be used to accommodate both height and depth adjustment. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited by the specific illustrative embodiment, but only by the scope of the appended claims.

That which is claimed is:

1. A dental treatment arrangement comprising:

a patient treatment chair having a tilting back and a headrest,

a fioor-supported upstanding dental unit disposed to one side of said chair,

an articulated dental arm and end hand piece extending from an upper portion of said dental unit,

a light post secured to said dental unit and having a light carried thereon for disposition in front of and spaced from said chair,

and a television set support rack carried by said dental unit,

said television set support rack having an open-sided television-cabinet supporting enclosure with the open side thereof facing said chair and tilted downwardly toward the back and headrest of said chair,

said supporting enclosure being at a vertically higher level than said light so as to enable facile viewing and dental treatment of a patient in said chair while permitting mind-distracting viewing of a television set in said enclosure.

2. A dental treatment arrangement according to claim 1 further comprising a television set having a cabinet with a viewing face, said cabinet being disposed within said enclosure with said viewing face facing downwardly toward the back and headrest of said chair.

3. An arrangement according to claim 1,

said television set support rack comprising an arm hav ing an upstanding portion and a horizontally extending portion,

said upstanding portion of said arm being secured to said light post, and said horizontally extending portion carrying said open-sided television cabinet supporting enclosure.

4. An arrangement according to claim 3,

said arm having an intermediate smooth bend connecting said upstanding portion and said horizontally extending portion,

said open-sided enclosure comprising two spaced generally upstanding holders having an open front side.

5. An arrangement according to claim 4,

each of said upstanding holders comprising a base element and a top element telescopically adjustably connected together,

said base element having a downwardly tilted bottom portion extending generally toward said chair and an upwardly and forwardly tilted front lip for engagement with the front surface of a television cabinet,

said top element having a downwardly tilted top portion extending generally toward said chair and a downwardly and rearwardly tilted front lip for engagement with the front surface of a television cabinet.

said top and bottom elements being telescopically connected through mutually interfacing tilted rear portions thereof.

6. An arrangement according to claim 5, one of said base element and top element being tubular and the other of said elements extending in telescopic relation into the rear tubular portion of said one element.

7. An arrangement according to claim 5,

one of said elements having a bore formed in the end of its said tilted rear portion,

the other of said elements extending in adjustable telescopic connection within said bore,

and an adjustment securing device for securing said base and top elements in adjusted position with respect to one another.

8. An arrangement according to claim 5, said base and top elements extending in a plane substantially normal to the general direction of said horizontally extending portion of said arm.

9. An arrangement according to claim 8,

said arm having a quadrilateral cross section the upper side of which is downwardly tilted toward said chair at an angle substantially parallel with said base elements,

said base elements being secured to said upper side of said arm.

10. A television set support rack for supporting a television set cabinet having a viewing face thereon, on a dental unit and in a position for ease of distraction viewing by a patient while in a dental chair disposed to one side of and back from the dental unit, comprising an arm having an upstanding portion and a horizontally extending portion,

said upstanding portion of said arm having a clamp thereon for securing to an upstanding light post on said dental unit,

and said horizontally extending portion having an opensided downwardly tilted television cabinet partial enclosure,

said arm having an intermediate smooth bend connecting said upstanding portion and said horizontally extending portion,

said open-sided partial enclosure comprising two spaced generally upstanding holders having an open front side,

each of said upstanding holders comprising a base element and a top element telescopically adjustably connected together,

said base element having a downwardly tilted bottom portion extending generally downwardly and forwardly and an upwardly and forwardly tilted front lip for engagement with the front surface of a television cabinet,

said top element having a downwardly tilted top portion extending generally toward said chair and a downwardly and rearwardly tilted front lip for engagement with the front surface of a television cabinet,

said top and bottom elements being telescopically connected through mutually interfacing tilted rear portions thereof,

said tilted rear portions each being inclined at an acute angle with respect to said bottom elements and an obtuse angle with respect to said top elements to aid in providing a partial enclosure having greater depth at the bottom than at the top as an aid in television set accommodation and support.

11. A television set support rack for supporting a television set cabinet having a viewing face thereon, on a dental unit and in a position for ease of distraction viewing by a patient while in a dental chair disposed to one side of and back from the dental unit, comprising an arm having an upstanding portion and a horizontally extending portion,

said upstanding portion of said arm having a clamp thereon for securing to an upstanding light post on said dental unit,

and said horizontally extending portion having an opensided downwardly tilted television cabinet partial enclosure,

said arm having an intermediate smooth bend connecting said upstanding portion and said horizontally extending portion,

said open-sided partial enclosure comprising two spaced generally upstanding holders having an open front side,

one of said elements having a bore formed in the end of its said tilted rear portion,

the other of said elements extending in adjustable telescopic connection within said bore,

and an adjustment securing device for: securing said base and top elements in adjusted position with respect to one another.

12. A television set support rack for supporting a television set cabinet having a viewing face thereon, on a dental unit and in a position for ease of distraction viewing by a patient while in a dental chair disposed to one side of and back from the dental unit, comprising an arm having an upstanding portion and a horizontally extending portion,

said upstanding portion of said arm having a clamp thereon for securing to an upstanding light post on said dental unit, said horizontally extending portion having an opensided downwardly tilted television cabinet partial enclosure, said arm having an intermediate smooth bend connecting said upstanding portion and said horizontally extending portion, said open-sided partial enclosure comprising two spaced generally upstanding holders having an open front side, each of said upstanding holders comprising a base element and a top element telescopically adjustably connected together, said base element having a downwardly tilted bottom portion extending generally downwardly and forwardly and an upwardly and forwardly tilted front lip for engagement with the front surface of a television cabinet, said top element having a downwardly tilted top portion extending generally downwardly and forwardly and a downwardly and rearwardly tilted front lip for engagement with the front surface of a television cabinet, said top and bottom elements being telescopically connected through mutually interfacing tilted rear portions thereof, said arm having a quadrilateral cross section the upper side of which is tilted downwardly rand forwardly at an angle substantially parallel with said base elements, said base elements being secured to said upper side of said arm. 13. An arrangement according to claim 12, said arm having a polygonal cross-section the upper side of which is tilted downwardly and forwardly at an angle substantially parallel with said base elements, said base elements being secured to said upper side of said arm.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS FOREIGN PATENTS 5/1949 Great Britain.

CHANCELLOR E. HARRIS, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 

